Gsoc2013Ideas

Student Project Ideas for Google Summer of Code 2013

This page lists the suggested projects for students working on Mixxx as part of Google Summer of Code 2013. Each of these projects represents something that we think would make a really big difference to our users and that we as a development team are really excited about. For advice on how to get in touch and how to apply, you should read GSoC Advice.

A GSoC application that simply repeats the project description will NOT be accepted. We expect you to think about the feature and how it aligns with Mixxx's goals, outline potential use-cases and propose a plan for implementing a solution.

Cover Art Support

Over the years a highly requested feature has been for Mixxx to support displaying cover art. This is a great project that combines both aesthetics/design and engineering. Can you think of awesome, playful ways to display cover art?

Some topics your proposal should cover:

• Supporting loading cover art (from metadata tags, from cover images in album directories, etc.)
• Deciding where and how to display the cover art in the GUI.
• Downloading cover art from metadata sources on the Internet if it is not available locally.

Your proposal should at the very least include details of how you will accomplish each of these parts of the project but the project is by no means limited to these topics. Make sure to think through the whole design and implementation and be sure to include details of anything you think may be relevant.

Since this project is small in scope, we expect that you will have plenty of time to polish it and make it shine.

Plug and Play MIDI Mode / Community MIDI Mappings

Mixxx currently supports a wide-range of hardware MIDI controllers that DJs can use to perform with. Each supported MIDI controller has a "mapping" file that is bundled with Mixxx, but this mapping must be manually selected by the user before their controller works. The aim of this project is to increase the usability for new users by automatically selecting the correct MIDI mapping and to provide an intelligent workflow for when an unsupported MIDI device is connected.

When a mapping for a MIDI device is not present, the user should not be left out in the cold. She should have the option of connecting to mixxx.org to see if there are any official or user-contributed mappings available for download. It's easy to imagine the various interesting turns this could take.

Since there is a server-side component to this project we ask that applicants be familiar with a web development framework that would be suitable for writing an API for mixxx.org. We suggest Django.

This project will involve a lot of time thinking about use cases, dealing with users and understanding their requirements. It would be a great opportunity for a student to get involved with the Mixxx community. The student will also have the opportunity to borrow a MIDI controller from the development team for the duration of the project.

Loop Recorder

A Loop Recorder is a module that allows the DJ to record short segments of the audio output (decks, cue/headphones, main output, etc.) and then play-back and remix the recorded segment into their mix. This is a key element of many controllerist and scratch routines.

This project will involve mostly architectural changes to the Mixxx mixing engine so digital signal processing experience is not a pre-requisite. In the process of writing up your proposal, we expect you to flesh out the different use cases you can think of for the loop recorder. Make sure to explore the Internet a little bit to find out more about what people use loop recorders for, specifically in a DJing context.

Some related bugs on Mixxx's bug tracker can be found here:

• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/692926
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/774808
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/878549
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/408111
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/717841

Streaming Services Support (SoundCloud, Last.fm, YouTube, Spotify, Grooveshark, Jamendo, etc.)

There are many music discovery services which give users access to a broad library of music. Many of these services have APIs that allow 3rd-party clients to access the services and stream music on the behalf of the user. We think these services will be a powerful tool for our users to explore how songs fit in their mixes.

Your application should include details of which streaming services you plan to integrate and how you will make use of their APIs (if they exist). In the very least, your proposal should define a modular system for plugging in new streaming services so that in the future all that is required to add more is defining how to search and stream from the API of the new service.

Some related bugs on Mixxx's bug tracker can be found here:

• https://code.launchpad.net/~max-linke/mixxx/library_features
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/938180
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/894652
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/669273
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/889898
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/918222

Keyboard / MIDI Mapping GUI

In Mixxx 1.11.0 we removed the old MIDI mapping GUI as we re-wrote the controller subsystem to support HID devices. Now it's time to rewrite the mapping GUI! This GUI should be modular enough to support an HID mapping GUI in the future. In previous versions of Mixxx the keyboard mapping was accomplished via a text file. This project will move keyboard mapping and processing into the new controller sub-system as a new type of controller and introduce a user-friendly GUI for editing keyboard presets and MIDI presets. For backwards compatibility, the keyboard presets should still be stored on-disk in the same text format.

We suggest you check out the MIDI mapping GUI present in Mixxx 1.10.0 and think of ways to improve on it. For example, one very user-unfriendly aspect of it was that you had to know the ControlObject names of the controls you wanted to connect to a MIDI message. The point-and-click MIDI mapping wizard in 1.11.0 now includes a drop-down of all mappable controls. This is a much better way for users to decide on what control to map a message to. Another very useful exercise is checking out the various commercial DJ software offerings out there and examining how they allow users to map MIDI controllers.

Enhanced Platform Integration

Thanks in large part to Qt and a number of other cross-platform libraries, Mixxx runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Although we're able to provide a consistent user experience on Windows and Mac OS X, we'd like to provide a better integrated experience on each of these platforms. We want to take advantage of the unique features that each platform provides, like the new fullscreen mode in OS X Lion or the new jump list in Windows 7, so that Mixxx feels as native as possible.

Qt already provides a small number of platform integration features, but to take advantage of other newer features that Qt doesn't have, platform-specific code for Windows and Mac OS X must be added to Mixxx. This project will involve figuring out which platform-specific features in Windows 7, Windows 8, Mac OS X Lion, and Mac OS X Mountain Lion would be the most useful for Mixxx users, and implementing several of those. (We don't expect students to have access to both Windows and Mac OS X, so a proposal focusing on one particular OS is OK, but an awareness of both platforms is a plus.)

This project could also include more basic polishing tasks, so if there's some little inconsistencies about Mixxx that have been bugging you, here's your chance to fix them.

For ideas, check out:

• Q7Goodies
• Features new to Windows 7 (Wikipedia)
• Features new to Windows 8 (Wikipedia)
• https://codereview.qt-project.org/#change,48152

Intelligent Track Suggestions / Smart Crates

Sometimes it can be useful to have a song suggested based on the currently playing one or just search the library with a set of parameters (BPM/Year/Key/...). This could be used to build playlists and find some songs on the go. There has been some work on this last year already, you can find it in the launchpad repo. A lot of mediaplayers can already do that (smart playlists) based on BPM/Genre/year/Artist/... and use information saved in the file or on the Internet (see exaile as an example).

Your proposal should include how this feature will be included in the GUI, if and how the tracks are ranked. What information you want to use to make the suggestions.

Related Links:

• https://code.launchpad.net/~mr-unwell2006/mixxx/track_selector_feature
• https://bugs.launchpad.net/mixxx/+bug/889898

Advanced Tagging

Currently Mixxx does not write metatdata back to the tracks. The tagging capability of mixxx is low compared to current media players. It is a good idea to catch up.

Non-Blocking Database Access

Currently some database transactions are stalling the GUI. This is because some database queries are preformed from the GUI thread.

This should be solved during the project by something like a standard non blocking interface to sqlite. All Database queries should be issued though this new interface.

This project would make Mixxx more reliable by this new concept how to deal with database actions.

Your proposal should include a draft proposal how do you will achieve the goal. You should have already have experience in parallel processing and sqlite.

Library GUI Layout Redesign

The current library GUI needs to be polished and needs to give room for new features.

Further links can be found here:

https://blueprints.launchpad.net/mixxx/+spec/three-column-library-layout

Something Else!

As always with Summer of Code, you aren't limited to the suggestions we've made here. If you've got a great idea for a project involving Mixxx then we're looking forward to hearing about it. Our bug tracker is full of wishlist bugs and other ideas scattered throughout, so if you browse through it, you may find many more ideas for GSoC projects.

IMPORTANT: You should contact us first to get feedback if you're going to submit a proposal for your own project idea!